A second chance to love
by Inlovewithcomedy99
Summary: After everyone has left the cemetery, two old lovers are finally able to be together after three centuries of waiting and longing. Maybe now they will realise the true value of their love, and how precious their time together is.
1. Chapter 1

**I recently watched Hocus Pocus again, and I feel in love with it all over again, particularly Winifred and Billy who are officially my favourite characters. I got this idea afterwards, and was inspired by the ending of 'Wicked', so this is my take on what happened after the end of the film, and Winifred and Billy's relationship. (Blame my romantic side, they would be great together!)**

Waiting until he was sure they had left the graveyard, Billy Butcherson clambered stiffly out of the pit he had slumbered in for the last 300 years, until he had been awoken by Winifred Sanderson and her sisters just hours before. He had done nothing but chase around after those children who had lit the black flame candle, which was not easy considering he hadn't moved in a while, and now it was all over. Good had triumphed over evil.

He passed the lifeless body of Thackery, pausing for a moment to gaze sorrowfully at the crumpled black cat. Although he was saddened by his death, Billy could not help but feel glad that Thackery had finally been reunited with his sister, free from his guilt-filled immortal life.

Finally, he reached his destination, remnants of emerald dust from Winifred's explosion shimmered in the early morning sun. A small patch of burnt grass was all that remained from where she stood, still sizzling with streams of pale smoke. Crouching down, he began to claw at the darkened earth, his fingers tracing over the ragged earth.

 _Come on,_ he thought desperately, _where is it?_ The tips of his fingers brushed over a small bump, and he smiled smugly. He grasped the mound and pulled, revealing a circular handle that was attached to a wooden trap door, which let out a cloud of dust as he wrenched it open. He reached down into the hole, heaving something from within its depths.

First emerged a head of fiery red hair, then a pair of mysterious brown eyes and a petit mouth with two great teeth poking through them. Finally the rest her body emerged from the darkness, deep emerald robes highlighting every curve. Billy sat her on the edge of the pit, so that her legs were still dangling in the darkness. She folded her arms over her chest and scowled lightly at him. "What took thou so long?" She snapped.

"Sorry Winnie," he replied, "the children have only just left. They were saying there final goodbyes to Thackery."

For the first time, Winifred seemed to notice the unmoving figure. "I suppose the curse is broken now. Pity." She muttered; her face an emotionless mask. He knew she had no fond regards for the boy, but she understood what it was like to lose someone, and for that reason she could emphasise. She turned her attention back to him. "We should start moving; you know I can't stay on hallowed ground for too long." With that she arose and began to brush her skirts. When she was satisfied, she turned to Billy and smiled shyly, holding out her hand to him.

He took her hand and she helped pull him up. His eyes met hers and he held her gaze, raising her hand to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss onto her smooth palm. He couldn't help but feel slightly smug that, even after 300 years, he was still able to make the eldest of the Sanderson sisters blush.

She coughed and pulled her hand out of his. "Come along, we do not have time to stand about." And she spun around, hiking up her skirts, and marched away. He tried to catch up with her and when her inquired as to where they were going, she replied, "To get my book. There is a spell to turn the undead into the living again. As much as I think thou are a very attractive, what is the word they use… zombie, I'd rather not have to continually pick up body parts that have fallen off." And as if to prove her point, he got his arm caught on a branch and managed to free himself of both the branch and his arm.

She rolled her eyes as he fumbled to reattach his limb, and finally gave in and stomped over to help him. "Honestly, you are worse than my sisters." She complained. When they finally managed to fix the arm back on, he curled it around her waist and smiled happily. "It's in perfect working order." He declared.

Winifred rolled her eyes again, but did not push him away. She sighed as he began to play with the loose curls of her hair. "We must hurry before all of Salem awake." She looked up at him and he lowered his head towards hers. When his mouth was an inch away from hers, she raised her hand and placed a small white sphere into his mouth, holding her hand over his mouth so he could not spit it out.

He felt a burning sensation spread around his mouth and throat. He struggled against her grip as he felt the sphere dissolve on his tongue. "Are you trying to poison me?" He chocked when she let go of him. "What in hell's name was that?"

"It's called a 'strong mint'." Winifred replied, amusement tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Extra strong. Don't worry, it won't kill you. It's used to freshen the breath."

He gagged and tried to scratch the taste from his tongue. "Vile. What are you implying?"

"That you may not even breathe near me until you've had at least five."

"You're a cruel woman, Winifred Sanderson." He teased. She patted her hair and thanked him, then handed him the packet, looking at him expectantly. Knowing she would not surrender, he reluctantly put another one in his mouth. If he was honest, he preferred it when he was being force fed poison. At least he knew that death would come to give him sweet relief.

They were about to start walking again, when they heard someone calling, "Billy", repeatedly. Winifred paled and gripped Billy's arm. "It's that little brat that called me…" Before she could finish, Danni rounded the corner where they were hidden. "Billy, there you are! We came to see if…" She froze when she saw the witch behind Billy and screamed for Max.

Max arrived seconds later, Alison closely following, and stumbled as he came to a halt beside his sister. "Danni, what is it? What happened?" he questioned the terrified girl. When she raised a trembling hand and pointed to Winifred, he instantly pushed Danni behind him and glared at the witch. "How is that possible? You're dead. The sun…"

"Has risen." She interrupted impatiently. "Yes I know."

"Then how are you…"

"Still alive?" When the three nodded, she glanced at Billy and they both smiled. "Because of careful planning and three centuries of waiting."

"What?" Max cried, he'd had enough witches to last him a life time, and to find out for the second time that night that they had failed to kill Winifred Sanderson was enough to make him want to hide and never come out again.

"The black flame candle being lit by a virgin was a part of the plan I devised so that we could be together again." She replied, still looking at Billy.

"But I thought you were poisoned by her." Alison questioned.

Billy turned to the three children and shook his head sorrowfully. "It was not Winifred who poisoned me."

"WHAT!" They all shouted. "But Binxs said…" Danni began.

"I'm afraid Binxs was wrong." Winifred snapped. Billy gave her a reproachful "Winnie", and she mumbled "Well it has been a long time. You would have thought _somebody_ would have got it right by now."

"She very nearly did kill me," Billy decided to put them out of there misery, "after what happened with Sarah. However I managed to convince her with what really happened. I would never have betrayed her willingly. Sarah put an enchantment on me, and when Winnie came back and found us in a _compromising_ position, her rage was enough to free me from it." He looked fondly at Winifred who, to the shock of the children, looked slightly embarrassed. "It took quite some time, but she finally believed me, much to Sarah's displeasure. Winifred made sure that I could never be enchanted by another." He sighed and shook his head. "My family planned it all with Sarah; she would enchant me so that I would desire her, and Winifred would find us and leave me because of it. She did not like Winifred spending more time with a boy than she was, and my family did not like me associating with a witch. When the plan failed, they poisoned me and sewed my mouth shut so that I could never reveal my true murderer. As it turned out, they had rather I died than be with a witch. But everybody accused Winifred of poisoning me. From the moment we started courting, they all said that she'd be the death of me."

"Which turned out to be true." Winifred added mournfully. He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

"Why didn't you just tell them it wasn't you?" Danni asked, beginning to feel sorry for the two.

Winifred looked at her in shock. "Thou has never encountered those who inhabited Salem in our time, apart from Thackery. They were not very _accepting_ of witches, plus they despised me with a passion, so any chance of trying to convince them that I was innocent would have been pointless. It would have been my word against theirs, and they would rather blame a witch than one of their own."

"Then why didn't you punish Sarah?" Max gawked at her, "I mean, surely you must have hated her for what she did."

Winifred considered, before answering "Yes I was furious at my sister, but she is my family and, believe it or not, I care very deeply for them. I felt sorry for her, as well. Sarah has never truly loved another; she does not understand the difference between love and lust." She gave them an impatient glare at their confused looks. "Now if thou doesn't mind, we have things to do and our love life is none of your business." With that she grabbed Billy's shredded jacket and dragged him away from the three.

"Wait!" Danni cried, dashing after the pair. They both turned around and Winifred began tapping her foot irritably. Danni swallowed and stepped forward. "You still haven't told us how you survived."

Placing one clawed finger against her cheek, she pretended to think. "No I haven't." She smirked. "And I don't think I'm going to."

"But you have to…" Max whined.

Winifred groaned and dragged her hand dramatically down her face. "And people ask why I hate children." She growled, "Fine if you must know, after the black flame candle has been lit, in order for my resurrection spell to be completed, I had to raise my love, Billy, from the ground. Fortunately you gave me the perfect excuse to do that without arousing the suspicion of my sisters." Shrugging her shoulders, she added "And I absorbed some of your life force so that was an added bonus."

Alison glanced suspiciously at the witch. "How do we know that this isn't another one of your tricks and that you're not planning something evil?"

"I'd swear on my soul if it hadn't already been sold."

"This isn't a joke!"

"Who said it was."

"Alright!" Max yelled, "How can you expect us to trust you after all you pulled tonight? Alison's right, you tried to suck the lives out of all the kids in Salem, and now you just turn around and tell us you won't?"

"Well I haven't said that yet." The three glared at her. "Alright, look I wouldn't expect you to understand," she looked at Max and Alison, "Well maybe you might, but I love Billy. More than you could possibly imagine. It's our second chance to love, and I've got no intention of risking us again."

Max regarded the witch, trying to see anything that would suggest that she was lying. He saw nothing. "Alright," He said cautiously, "But we're coming with you. No doubt your 'things to do' will involve magic, so we want to make sure you're not going to do anything as soon as our backs our turned."

Winifred looked from Max, to Alison, to Danni and then to Billy, repeating this sequence several times, before growling "fine" and storming off. Billy looked at them and gave a sympathetic smile. "Well you didn't really expect her to be over joyed, did you?" And then he trailed after her, Max, Alison and Danni following shortly after, making sure to keep their distance.

 **I only intended this to be a one shot, but now I think I will write another chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought of it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the second and final chapter of this short little tale. I should probably be starting my finally piece for art, however after watching '** _ **That old Feeling'**_ **with Bette Midler, I remembered this story and how it needed finishing and could not concentrate on anything else.**

"…merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream."

A gloomy silence fell over the Sanderson Sister's cottage, with only the gentle creaking of the two rusting cages echoing in the semi-darkness, created by the dying embers of a few warped candles. One shrivelled candle gave up its fight and succumbed to the darkness, vanishing and leaving only a stream of translucent smoke, and intensifying the shadows that crawled up the walls and along any surface it could find.

Trapped inside the cages, two teenage boys, Ernie 'Ice' and Jay sat, their faces matching the dismal thoughts that were whirling around their heads and their legs growing numb from the metal bars digging painfully into their raw flesh. "I think this is the end bro." Jay murmured mournfully. "We'll be left here to rot, like, forever."

Ice grunted in response, having heard Jay say this ever since those ugly chicks, who turned out to be none other than the Sanderson sisters back from the dead, left about an hour before hand. He looked desperately at the keys hanging on a large hook by the door, trying to form a plan in the spaces of his limited mind. "Shut up Jay." He snapped, "We need to get those keys to get out."

"And how do we do that?" When Ice didn't reply, Jay assumed that he too had no idea and so began to sing, half-heartedly, 'row, row, row your boat'. This seemed to give Ice his desired muse for the perfect escape plan. "That's it!" He yelled triumphantly.

"That's what?" Jay asked, feeling more than a little bit left behind.

"We swing the cages until we get close enough to the keys, then we unlock the cages and we're free!"

Jay scowled in confusion for a moment, then the clouds parted and a smile of joy broke out across his face. "That's brilliant Ernie." He cried.

Ice gave him a harsh glare and, if he had been close enough, would have hit him. "How many times? It's Ice you idiot!" And proved his point further by turning his head and pointing to the word 'Ice' shaved on the back of his head.

"Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry Ern…Ice"

"Never mind." Ice huffed, "Come on." He then proceeded to swing the cage back and forward, gradually building up more momentum with each swing.

Jay quickly followed his lead, and soon they were both swinging considerably far. What both had failed to notice, was that they keys were on the other side of the room and no matter how hard they tried, the cages would never reach even a quarter of the distance.

Quickly, they tired and before long their limbs were hanging weak and hopelessly through the bars of the cage. "This is the end." Ice cried mournfully.

Their depression was short lived, however, as they heard voices resounding from outside. They both began shouting in an attempt to attract the attention their attention, hoping that they were going to finally be saved. The voices grew from a faint murmur, gradually getting louder and louder, until they sounded from just outside the door.

Suddenly the door burst open, and Ice and Jay felt all hope drain from their bodies, being replaced with a suffocating sense of fear and dread. "Oh God." They both whispered simultaneously.

Any chance of being saved was now well and truly dead.

 **Mwhaha, aren't I just evil!? A wonderful cliff-hanger! There was a short little chapter to keep you going for a while. Stay tuned for the next update, and please please leave me a little review to let me know what you think. All reviews are welcomed and appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know I said that the previous chapter would be the last, however I changed my mind whilst writing it and decided to do another. I've only just found the time to write this chapter, and I hope you can all forgive me for the really long wait, but this will definitely be the last chapter of the story. Promise. So I'm going to stop waffling and let you get on with reading it, so enjoy!**

Swooping through the door, her skirts rustling around her, Winifred surveyed the room with a delighted smile upon her face. That smile, however, soon faded as her gaze came to rest upon the two trembling teens that were still locked in the hanging cages. "Oh," she said, her voice devoid of any joy. "I forgot you were still here."

"P-Pl-please don't hurt us." Ice whimpered, his lower lip trembling.

"Yeah," Jay piped in, "We won't say anything to anyone about you or your freaky sisters!"

Winifred simply raised an eyebrow at them and questioned, "Freaky?" Behind her, Billy shuffled into the room and glanced up at the cages and then at Winifred. "You gonna leave them there?"

"Dude, that's a-a-a…" Jay choked.

"Zombie." Ice cried in reply, his voice rising several octaves. "He'll eat our brains and then we'll turn into a zombie and then there'll be a zombie apocalypse."

"I don't want to eat brains" Sobbed a snivelling Jay.

Billy turned to Winifred, who was trying her best not to burst out laughing, in confusion. "Brains?" He asked, and with that Winifred let loose a mighty cackle, clinging desperately to the edge of the table as she doubled over with laughter, terrifying the caged boys even more.

Danni, Max and Alison hastily entered at the sound of the witch's cackle. "What is it? What happened?" Max exclaimed. "What have you done now Winifred? God I knew you couldn't be trusted."

Wiping her eyes with her long clawed fingers, she simply pointed to the cages and walked towards the stand that held her book, chuckling "zombie apocalypse" and "eating brains" as she went.

Danni walked over to the cages and smirked at the two boys within. "Not so tough now, are we?" She said in a sing-song voice. "Maybe you should try being nicer to people, and then you would get some help getting out of there."

"Look, little girl, you gotta help us out of here!" Ice pleaded. "We'll be nice, and never pick on you or your brother again. How's that? Huh? Please just help us."

Danni folded her arms across her chest and turned her head towards Max. "What do you think? Shall we leave them here to rot for all eternity?" She grinned at the terrified looks.

Max shook his head and replied, "No Danni, it's time to let them out. They've learned their lesson."

"But they deserve-"

"And they suffered long enough. Winifred let them out of the cage."

Without even looking up from her book, Winifred grumbled and snapped her fingers, causing the bottoms of the cages to disappear. Ice and Jay seemed to be suspended in the air for a moment, before gravity took hold of them and they fell, crashing to the floor in a heap. Without even pausing for a moment, they both jumped up and sprinted out of the door, screaming and yelling, "Witches! Zombies!" as they did.

"Babies." Danni muttered, walking over to her brother and Alison.

"Found it!" Winifred cried with glee, clapping her hands together in delight.

"Found what?" Alison asks, almost hesitant to find out the answer.

"A spell."

"What spell?"

"The spell I have been searching for."

"And what spell would that be?"

Winifred's head snapped up and she glared at the blonde haired girl. "Thou are very nosey. What does it matter what spell it is?"

Max steps forward, positioning himself between the witch and his new girlfriend, and glowers. "It matters a great deal with your track record. We don't know what kind of stunt you might pull." They continued to glare at each other, both refusing to be the first to yield. Eventually Billy, growing tired of the constant tension that hung over the group, sighed "It is a spell to make me human." Unfazed by Winifred's icy look, he continued, "She's not trying to cause any harm, not this time anyway. Just trying to complete the resurrection spell and turn me from the undead into the living again."

Max glanced untrustingly towards Winifred. "How do we know that she won't try something as soon as our backs are turned?"

"You have my word that we shall leave Salem and you will never hear of us again."

Alison looked over at Winifred. "Do you swear it?"

Rolling her eyes and stamping her foot, she snapped "Yes, yes you have my word. Now can I get on with it?" And without waiting for a reply, began uttering the spell, waving her hand in rhythm with her voice.

Billy grunted in pain as he felt her magic course through his veins and change his body. He felt his heart begin to pound in his chest, sending the blood travel through him and he felt his lungs expand as they filled with oxygen. His skin burned as it healed and returned to the same pale colour it had been in life. His hair, no longer rotting and matted, was now sleek and a silky black colour. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity for Billy, the pain faded until it was a gentle thrumming, and then stopped completely. The spell was completed.

The three youths gawped at their once zombie-friend, who had now been replaced by a handsome dark haired man, with piercing emerald eyes. It was quite easy to see how Winifred fell in love with him, as well as why Sarah lusted after him. "Has it worked?" Billy asked, his husky and cracked voice was now smooth and refined.

All they could do was nod, dumbfounded in awe (for different reasons entirely). Winifred smirked at their speechlessness. "Yes dear, thou looks as handsome as thou did 300 years ago." She grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards the door, shoving her spell book into his arms as she retrieved her broomstick. "Now if you don't mind, we really must be going." She turned to face Max. "I can't say it's been a pleasure meeting any of you, and if I never see you again, it will be too soon. Well, goodbye." She waved and opened walked out of the door.

Being the first to recover, Max speed after the witch. "Hang on! Wait a minute!"

Winifred groaned and slumped her shoulders in despair. She turned to face him. "What now?"

He looked to Danni and Alison and said, "I think it would be safer for us all if you left the book with us."

"What?" Winifred snapped, her left eye twitching and sparks flying from her fingertips.

"We still can't trust you." Danni stepped forward, ignoring her brother who was trying to pull her back. "We know for a fact that you can't remember the spells in that book, and we'll be more at ease if you gave it to us." She held out her hand for the book.

"Oh, I see." Winifred smirked. "And if I refuse what then? Are _you_ going to stop me?"

"We stopped you once before."

"Not really."

"Well two out of three is better than none." Max mumbled.

"Enough." Billy sighed "This is getting tedious. Look, Winifred is not going to give you the book willingly, and I promise you that she will not do anything to endanger the lives of mankind or try to suck the lives out of little children." Seeing that they were not convinced he added, "If you don't trust her, then trust me. I'll destroy the book if she even considers using it for any evil purposes." He rolled his eyes at Winifred's shocked stuttering.

At Max's nod of agreement, Billy sighed with relief. He stepped forward and held out his hand to Max. "Thank you, my friend. And good luck in your new relationship."

Max shook his hand and laughed nervously. "Err thanks. And good luck to you too."

Billy then turned to Alison, and said simply, "Look after him." Alison laughed at this and gave Billy a quick but sincere hug. "Don't worry, I will."

Finally, Billy turned to Danni and knelt down, taking her small hands in his larger ones. He wiped a tear from her cheek. "Don't cry Danni."

"But we're never going to see you again." She snivelled.

He smiled softly at her. "Yes you will, anytime you want. Because I'll always be in here." He pointed to her heart. "And all you need to do is think of our adventures together, and I'll be right there with you." He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, and then arose, turning to face his beloved witch. "Are you ready my darling?"

"Have been for quite some time." She replied softly. Holding up her broom, she added, "Shall we?"

Billy looked unsurely at it. "On that thing? Are you sure that it will be safe for us both."

"Oh it will be fine. Now get on." With that, she mounted the broom and it began to levitate in mid-air. She jerked her head implying that he should get on. "Right then." He breathed nervously, and proceeded to attempt to get on behind Winifred. After a few minutes of struggling, he finally managed to get on after being pulled up by Winifred. "Are you ready my darling?" She turned her head to him and asked, quoting him earlier.

He did not reply in words, but pressed his lips gently to hers, giving her a kiss that was filled with promise and love.

Grinning, Winifred turned back around, and spurred the broom into life, so they were soaring through the early morning sky. She cackled happily as she felt the wind rush through her hair, and her one love sat close behind her with his strong arm wrapped around her mid-section. All she could think about was how happy she was that they were finally together again. After all these years they finally had their second chance to love, and she intended to treasure it forever.

 **Finished, and this time I truly mean it. I know Winifred may seem a little out of character, but I think that underneath all the witchy, 'kill all the children' attitude, she does have a soft side. Again I want to thank everyone who has read this story and left a review, because you all have really been the driving force behind this story. Now that it's over, I feel a little bit sad, but you know what they say, all good things must come to an end, but I hope that you've all enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. You're all the greatest** **xxx**


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